He’s written some of the biggest motion pictures of the last two decades, and now he’s doing The B-Movies Podcast. Let’s just preserve our egos by pretending it’s a lateral move. This week, we are proud to present an exclusive hour-long interview with Zak Penn, the writer/co-writer of The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men: The Last Stand, Last Action Hero and the upcoming Pacific Rim sequel.
Zak Penn tells us all about the production of the X-Men movies, including how Professor X got his body back, and how his original screenplay for The Hulk was jettisoned by Ang Lee only to be revived by Marvel Studios. He also explains what went wrong with Elektra, what went right with the cult classic college comedy PCU, and what was cut from his original script for Last Action Hero, which sounds like a much better movie than what actually ended up in theaters.
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But just as importantly, Zak Penn tells us about his new documentary – Atari: Game Over – about the rise and fall of the first great video game company, and how he helped unearth the long-lost copies of the E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial video game that were buried in a landfill in the 1980s. Zak Penn’s film, originally intended as part of a TV series, is now available to watch for free from Xbox Video.
Related: Leigh Whannell & Angus Sampson Talk ‘The Mule’ & ‘Insidious: Chapter 3’ on The B-Movies Podcast
How did Zak Penn get the gig writing Pacific Rim 2? How did Professor X get his body back in the X-Men movies? You’ll find out in The B-Movies Podcast Presents: Zak Penn! Follow us on Twitter at @BMoviesPodcast, follow your hosts at @WilliamBibbiani and @WitneySeibold, follow Zak Penn at @ZakPenn, and check out Atari: Game Over online – for free – right now.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
